Thursday, April 22, 2010

I have been wanting to post for the past few days but have been lacking the pictures I need to post! My dad has been a little slow in the emailing pics department;-) He has been a little busy hunting the elusive turkey with my hubby since Monday. Yes, turkey season has started so that means coffee (and plenty of it) at 430am and long hikes through the woods to chase down their birds. However, this week has been less than successful in the hunting department. Oh well, another bird lives to see another day...

Now would seem to be the time to tell you that I'm currently eating a vegetarian diet, huh? Makes sense to me! But I guess the proper term for me would be pescatarian. If you have a confused look on your face right now, it's ok...I'll define it for you. A “pescatarian” is occasionally used to describe those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. Although the word is not commonly used, more and more people are adopting this kind of diet, usually for health reasons or as a stepping stone to a fully vegetarian diet.

I will elaborate more on this and how much I am LOVING how I feel but before I stray too far I must get on to the real reason for this post:

The Lending A Hand Fund held our 1st Annual River Run this past Saturday! We had a 5K Run and a 1 Mile Run/Walk. There was about 165 people that participated, not to mention all the friends and family that gathered at the park to watch and cheer on the runners and walkers. We had medals for the top two finishers male/female in each race. And the winner of the women's 5K was........

ME!!!!!!!!!!

OMGosh, I was so excited y'all, let me tell you!! My time was 23:50, which is a PR for me! It was an amazing experience! There were tears all around from my mom and sisters and almost from me, just from the sheer exhiliaration of winning a race, especially one that I helped set up, and one with such a worthy cause as our Lending A Hand Fund. It was an experience I'll never forget! Our family represented well as all 3 kids ran today, my brother-in law and sister-in-law ran their FIRST 5K, and our nephew ran as well!

Our committee for the Lending A Hand Fund: Tiffany, Della, Me:

Tyler finishing strong! His 5K time was 22:09:

Zachary finishing the 5K! His time was 25:02:Katie and I finishing the 1 mile! Her time was 11:00! WOW!! Tyler getting his medal for taking 2nd place in the 1 mile:

Ethan looking like his Aunt Erica by going and finding one of my sister's old medals from hs so we would match. Awwwwe, he is so sweet!!

So it was an amazing day and an amazing success. We ended up raising over $10,000 for cancer patients in our community!!! Far and beyond our expectations...we are amazed and so thankful. We are already thinking about next year!

MY BREAST CANCER JOURNEY

Hey! I'm Erica, a 34-year-young stay-at-home mom of 3 wonderful, active children and a breast cancer SURVIVOR. My husband, Jack, is still my high school sweetheart and we have been married for 17 years. I live in a tiny town in Missouri, taking care of my family and soaking up every minute in every day. I am a lover of Jesus, running, coffee, girl-time, positivity, dancing, fruits & vegetables, shopping trips, and sports. I begin each day with the intention on pleasing the Lord and because of His amazing grace, at the end of the day, He loves me anyway. So on my blog you will be seeing my 3 favorite little people (and my favorite big-guy!), my hopes, my dreams, and my prayers. Sometimes it gets a little crazy around here, but if you are up for keeping up with a busy mom, let's go!

You can contact me by email at: jegriffin @ centurytel . net

Ah, Sovereign LORD,You are my hope, the Lord of my life. I wait on you and move cautiously in my decisions. I'm not ashamed to trust in Your guidance, Lord. Instead, I feel thankful for the encouragement and surety You give me. As I trust in You, I'm filled with peace. Throughout the day, my thoughts often turn to You for direction and strength. In quiet confidence I find strength only You can give. You, dear Father, are my Rock and my Defender; I shall not fear. I know in whom I believe and I'm persuaded You keep me close to You day by day. I look to You, I doubt not in Your unfailing love for me. Thank You. In Jesus' name, Amen.-Anita Corrine Donihue